Fluid container with internal perforated compartment

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a container for drinking fluids wherein the container has an integrated interior compartment for storing solid elements used for treating drinking fluids. The interior compartment includes a plurality of perforations that allow the fluid found in the container to flow through the interior compartment to allow such fluid to interact with the contents of the interior chamber. The interior chamber may include a compound for treating the fluid and for forming, for example, alkaline water. The treatment compound is compressed into solid beads that will interact with the drinking fluid but will not substantially dissolve. In one embodiment the treatment compound comprises of Tourmaline, Kaoline, Magnesium, Magnesium Oxide, Silicone Dioxide and Calcium Oxide.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to drinking fluid containers,and more particularly to a combination fluid container and watertreatment system integrated within a portable stainless steel watervessel. A treatment compound is positioned within the vessel in aninterior perforated chamber located in and fixed to the container tointeract with a drinking fluid. For example, the container and treatmentcompound may be used to form alkaline water.

2. Description of the Related Art

Personal hydration includes the need for portable drinking fluidcontainers and bottles. Because of the sustainability and environmentalissues associated with plastic and single use water bottles, consumersare attracted to reusable containers as such as stainless steel waterbottles. Also stainless steel bottles can be formed to be free of BPA,lead or other toxins making for a healthier container. In addition,consumers have recognized the health benefits of treated drinking fluidssuch as alkaline water. In this regard, there is a need in the art forcombining the benefits of reusable containers in combination with theeasy availability of treated fluids such as alkaline water.

Alkaline water is understood to be beneficial to health for maintainingphysical stability and helping to deal with acid buildup in the body inboth healthy individuals and those with conditions that causeacidification of the blood. Alkaline water is said to aid in digestion,neutralize acidity, and to also assist in reducing free radicals. Inaddition, in most instances alkaline water has the characteristic ofsmaller water clusters, and a pH above 7.0 that has also been identifiedas allowing the body to more easily absorb the water. Generally,alkaline water is obtained by water electrolysis and/or through chemicaltreatment by mineral agents. In many prior art devices for creatingalkaline water, electricity is used in association with an apparatus, orotherwise have complex structures that are not conducive for treatingdrinkable fluids in a portable manner. A discussion of the types andsystems for creating alkaline water are described in Chung, U.S.Publication No. 2007/0221556, published Sep. 27, 2007, the substance ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

Prior art devices also disclose the use of mineral agents in fluidvessels, to allow untreated water to come in contact with the agents toform alkaline water. Such prior art devices however include multi-partstructures that are not user friendly and may not remain fixed in avessel, as intended, or otherwise use an undesirable amount of volumewithin a vessel and do not facilitate the flow of water around themineral agents. As such there is a need in the art for the worry freeuse of a reactive agent in a portable fluid vessel, that will notovertake the functional use of the vessel and use an undesirable amountof volume of the bottle.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention provides a container for drinking fluids whereinthe container has an integrated interior compartment for storing solidelements used for treating drinking fluids. The interior compartmentincludes a plurality of perforations that allow the fluid found in thecontainer to flow through the interior compartment to allow such fluidto interact with the contents of the interior chamber. The interiorchamber may include a compound for treating the fluid and for forming,for example, alkaline water. The treatment compound is compressed intosolid beads that will interact with the drinking fluid but will notsubstantially dissolve. In one embodiment the treatment compoundcomprises of Tourmaline, Kaolinite, Magnesium, Magnesium Oxide, SiliconeDioxide and Calcium Oxide.

The present invention provides a stainless steel container for drinkingfluids. The container of the present invention includes an integratedinterior compartment for storing solid elements and allowing fluid toflow through the interior compartment. In an embodiment of the inventioncontainer includes a vessel body having an opening for receiving adrinking fluid. A threaded neck and matching threaded cap is provided toopen and close the container. The vessel body has a sidewall portion andbase portion that forming an inner surface and an outer surface of thecontainer. Located at the base of vessel, a stainless steel innerchamber attached to the inner surface of the vessel. The inner chamberincludes a plurality of openings to enable the flow of the fluid throughthe chamber.

The configuration of the inner chamber allows fluid treatment agent,such as a mineral agent to be captured within the chamber. The mineralagent is captured and is not permitted to migrate from the inner chamberto the vessel chamber to prevent the user of the vessel to consume theagent. However, the inner chamber includes perforations to allow for thewater or fluid to interact with the agent, such that the agent is ableto interact with the water or fluid and provide treatment. The innerchamber is inserted and attached through the mouth or opening of thecontainer, and is releasably secured therein so that the inner chambercan be removed and the fluid treatment agent replaced. The mineralagent, is formed into spherical solid beads to be inserted into thechamber.

The container is of a generally cylindrical shape, with circular crosssection. The circular cross section of the vessel can have an increaseddiameter toward the top of the container as shown in the figures toprovide additional volume to the container, since the inner chamber mayuse some of the vessel volume. The inner chamber structure and themineral agent contained within the chamber provides a weight offset toallow the container to have a larger diameter toward the top of thevessel. The weight of the inner chamber provides a counter weight to thelarger volume are toward the top of the container, a container whichincreases stability and assist the container from being too top heavy.

The present invention additionally contemplates a method of forming acontainer for drinking fluids capable of forming treated fluids. Thesteps of the method include providing an elongated, hollow vesselcomprising an integral side wall and a base wall with an opening formedat a top end. Attaching cylindrical well to the bottom interior base ofthe container. The cylindrical well has an open top and side walls witha formed annular rim. A cylinder, that is capped with a circular insert,and a mineral agent contained therein and is inserted into thecylindrical well that has a diameter slightly larger than the cylinderinsert. Deformable tabs attached to the sides of cylinder engage theannular rim to secure said cylinder to said cylindrical base to form acylindrical inner chamber. The steps can also include populating theinner chamber with a fluid treatment compound such as a mineral agent.The mineral agent can be formed from the compound of the followingcomponents Tourmaline, Kaoline, Magnesium, Magnesium Oxide, SiliconeDioxide and Calcium Oxide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container of the present inventionshowing the container cap in an exploded view;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the container of the presentinvention with the cap threaded into a closed position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the base of the containerof the present invention, additionally showing the detail of the innerchamber;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the base of the container of thepresent invention with the inner chamber shown in exploded view;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the inner chamber of the container of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of the circular insert that is used within theinner chamber of the container of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective exterior view of thecontainer of the present invention 10. The container 10 comprises avessel body 12 is shown in exploded relationship with the container cap14. The container cap 14 includes a cap head 16 interconnected to athreaded insert 18. The cap head 16 includes a cap D ring 20 that ispivotally connected to the cap head 16 at pivot inserts 16 a and 16 b.The D ring can move laterally and pivot about inserts 16 a and 16 b toenable the bottle to be handled by the D ring 20. Although it iscontemplated that the cap 14 if formed from a unibody stainless steelstructure, the cap 14 in combination with the cap head 16 couldadditionally be formed of natural material such wood or bamboo.

The vessel body 12 is formed from an elongate stainless steel sidewall22 that is tapered to a neck portion 24. The neck portion 24 isthreaded, sized and adapted to interface with the threaded insert 18 ofthe cap 14. A user can selectively open and close the vessel 12 bysecuring the cap 14 to the vessel body 12 at the neck portion 24 byrotating the cap 14 in the threaded grooves to form a fluid tight sealto prevent fluid escaping form the vessel 12 when closed. A siliconeo-ring may be employed on the underside of the cap head 16 to assist informing a fluid tight seal. The rigid stainless steel sidewalls 22 caneither remain as unfinished stainless steel or can be painted, decaledand/or dyed to create different appearances for the container.Furthermore, the sidewalls 22 can accommodate a silicone cover 26 asshown in FIG. 1 or other such surface covering, such as neoprene, as anexample. The cover 26 can be included for decorative purposes, or forincluding brand information. Also the cover 26 can serve the purpose ofproviding a more secure grip of the container 10 and can also assist inminimizing a wet surface caused by a cool liquid inside the container 10contributing to surface sweating. Also, in the case of warm beveragesthe cover 26 can serve to provide a gripping surface that will have atemperature lower than the uncovered stainless steel surface.

It is contemplated that the stainless steel vessel 12 can be formed fromhigh quality food-grade stainless steel which is safe, non-toxic and isresistant to absorbing smells and materials placed in the container thatcould create unwanted flavor to the drinking fluids as might be presentin plastics or other materials and surfaces. Stainless steel isotherwise inert to avoid affecting the taste of the drinking fluid orwater and is additionally resistant to the elements and corrosion isminimized. The neck portion 24 provides opening for which fluid can beinserted or extracted from the vessel 12 and is wide enough to promotedrinking directly from the bottle. Additionally, the wide neck portion24 facilitates easy cleaning by allowing the insertion of cleaningdevices into the vessel 12, as well as permitting access to the base ofthe vessel 12 to access the insertion and removal of an inner chamber(not shown) which is discussed in greater detail which respect to FIGS.2-6. If seals used around the mouth of the neck portion 24 and opening28 when interfacing with the cap 14, food-grade silicone o-ring orsimilar structure may be used to create a fluid tight seal.

The container 10 is of a generally cylindrical shape, with circularcross section. The circular cross section of the vessel as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 show the sidewalls 22 have an increased diameter towardthe top of the container to provide additional volume to the container,since the inner chamber 32 may use some of the vessel 10 volume. Theinner chamber 32 structure and the mineral agent 34 contained within thechamber 32 provides a weight offset to allow the container to have alarger diameter or cross section toward the top of the vessel and toprovide greater stability and to help avoid the container toppling overwhen the vessel includes an amount of fluid that reaches the enlargedportion of the container.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2 there is shown a cross-section of thecontainer 10 wherein the vessel body 12 and the cap 14 are engaged inthe closed position. The stainless steel sidewalls 22 are welded to acircular base 30 to form a water tight vessel 12. Although presentinvention constructs the vessel body 12 of the two components of thesidewalls 22 and base 30, it is contemplated by the present inventionthat the vessel body 12 can be constructed from a unitary piece formedin the vessel body shape to avoid the step of welding the base 30 to thesidewalls 22. An inner chamber 32 is affixed to the base 30 as describedmore particularly in FIGS. 3-4. The inner chamber 32 is generallycylindrical in shape and is adapted to receive mineral agent beads 34 orother materials that can interact with and treat a fluid containedwithin the vessel. The mineral agent beads 34 are fixedly secured withinthe inner chamber 32 so not to escape from the inner chamber into thevoid of the vessel 12. The inner chamber 32 is shown in more detail inFIG. 3. Although the inner chamber is formed into a cylindrical shape,other shapes are equally capable of containing the mineral beads 34including but not limited to a spherical shape, or a cube shape or anyother shapes. Also, although the chamber 32 shows perforations 36 formedequally spaced and set in rows and columns, it is submitted that anytype of openings in any pattern which are small enough to keep the beadsin the inner chamber is contemplated. The beads 34 are contemplated tobe 4-5 mm in diameter, and of a spherical shape, however different sizesand shapes of the beads are contemplated. Also a mesh or wire frame cageis contemplated to keep the beads 34 in the inner chamber 32.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3, there is shown a cross sectional viewof the vessel 12 with side wall 22 and base 30. Also, the inner chamber32 is shown in cross sectional view incorporating mineral agent beads34. The mineral agent beads 34 are trapped within the chamber 32 so asto not migrate in the void of the vessel 12. In order to allow thedrinkable fluid to interact with the beads 34, side wall perforations 36are provided in the side wall of the inner chamber 32 to permit fluid toflow through the chamber and for the fluid to interact with the mineralagent beads 34. A circular insert 38 is provided within the chamber 32to enclose the chamber 32 and trap the beads 34 within the chamber, andto support the mineral agent beads 34 above the base 30 to permit waterflow at the base of the chamber 32 through base perforations 40 and upthrough perforations in the insert 38 (not shown) described in moredetail in FIG. 6. The bottom portion of the chamber 32 is welded to thebase 30 at weld points 42 formed in the base 30 for purposes ofaccepting a rigid connection with the chamber 32. Although the weldpoints 42 are shown in FIG. 4, the invention contemplates additionalpatterns of welding the chamber 32 to the base.

The beads 34 are formed from mineral agents bound together in solidform, of a size large enough to avoid migrating through the perforations36, or other perforations of the chamber 32. The beads interact with thedrinkable fluid or water to form alkaline fluid that has certain healthbenefits described in the background of the invention. The beads 34 areformed from at least one or more of the following components Tourmaline,Kaolinite (Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄), Magnesium (Mg), Magnesium Oxide (MgO),Silicone Dioxide (SiO2) and Calcium Oxide (CaO). Although the presentinvention contemplates the forgoing mineral agents, it is submitted thatthe invention contemplates the use of other mineral agents or compoundsthat are reactive to fluids in the formulation of the beads 34.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown an exploded view of the componentsof the chamber 32. The components of the chamber 32 include a topcylinder 44, circular insert 38 and base well 46. The base well 46 isinterconnected to base 30. During assembly of the container 10 of thepresent invention, the base 30 is welded to the sidewalls 22. The basewell 46 is then connected to the base 30 by welding or other means. Ofthe three components of the chamber 32, the base well 46 has the largestdiameter, large enough to receive the top cylinder 44 and the insert 38has the smallest diameter to be received in top cylinder 44. Thecircular insert 38 is sized to be received and frictionally fit withinthe top cylinder 44. It is contemplated by the present invention thatthe beads 34 would be placed in top cylinder 44, and the cylinder iscapped by the circular insert 38 to trap the beads in the cylinder 44,and then the cylinder 44 with the insert 38 is releasably received intothe base well 46. The cylinder 44, with the combination of the insert 38and internal beads 34 is introduced into the vessel 10 through theopening 28 to engage with the base well 46. Likewise the cylinder 44with the combination of the insert 38 and internal beads 34 can beremoved through the opening 28 of vessel 10.

The insert 38 has a perforated flat top surface 48, shown in FIG. 6 andcurved perimeter 50. The curved perimeter 50 is inserted into the topcylinder 44 and rests against bottom of the base well 46, as best shownin FIG. 3. Lower perforations 41 are formed at the base of the topcylinder 44. Because the perimeter 50 is curved it provides clearance topermit fluid flow through the lower perforations 40 of the base well 46when the top cylinder 44 is inserted into the base well 46 such that thelower perforations 40 are in fluid communication with the lowerperforations 41 of the top cylinder 44.

The top cylinder 44 has a closed top 52 with perforations 60 as shown inFIG. 5. The lower portion of the cylinder 44 has an opening 54 that willbe placed over the insert 38. The top cylinder 44 has a lesser diameterthan the base well 46, and is sized to be received into the base well46. In addition four tabs 56 are provided in spaced relation about theside wall of the upper cylinder 44. The tabs 56 are sized and configuredto engage an annular recess 58 formed in the sidewalls of the base well46, to engage the tabs 56 of the top cylinder 44. The tabs 56 aredesigned to deform back into the sidewall of the top cylinder 44 uponstriking the annular recess 58, and then when the cylinder 44 pushedpast the annular recess 58, the tabs 56 flay outwardly as shown in FIG.3, such that the top cylinder 44 is locked into place within the basewell 46. It is contemplated that the beads 34 will be placed within thecylinder 44 capped with the insert 38, prior to engaging the base well46, so that the beads 34 will trapped within the inner chamber 32 oncethe top cylinder 44 is locked into place with the well base 46.

The top cylinder 44 is releasably secured into the base well 46 with theinsert 38 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The top cylinder 44 is held inplace by friction and engagement of the tabs 56 with the rim 58. The topcylinder 44 is held in place in secure enough fashion to avoid thecylinder 44 becoming dislodged during normal use of the container 10 ofthe present invention. The rim 58 shaped such that tabs 56 are notpermanently locked into the base well 46, and facilitates the removal ofthe cylinder 44. The cylinder 44 can be removed by supplying enoughpulling force to the cylinder 44 to disengage with the base well 46 andremoved from the container 10 through opening 28. As such, the user ofthe container 10 of the present invention could introduce fresh beads 34for fluid treatment by either inserting a new top cylinder 44 withinsert 38, or the same cylinder 44 with insert 38 after replacing thebeads 34.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown the top surface 52 of the topcylinder 44 along the view 5-5 as shown in FIG. 4. The top surface 52includes a plurality of perforations 60 to permit fluid flow through theinner chamber 32. Tabs 56 are shown extending outwardly from thesidewalls of the top cylinder 44. Likewise, as shown in FIG. 6, there isshown the top surface 48 of the insert 38 which also includesperforations 62 formed in the surface 48 to promote fluid flow betweenthe vessel 22 and the inner chamber 32.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodimentsdisclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with eachother and are not intended to be limited to the specific combinationsdescribed herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited bythe illustrated embodiments.

1. A container for drinking fluids, said container having an integratedinterior compartment for storing solid elements and allowing fluid toflow through the interior compartment comprising: a vessel body havingan opening, a sidewall, and a base, said sidewall and base collectivelyforming an inner surface and an outer surface of the vessel body; and aninner chamber attached to the inner surface of the vessel body andextending from the base, said inner chamber including a plurality ofopenings to enable the flow of fluid through the chamber.
 2. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein the sidewall of the vessel body has acircular cross section.
 3. The container of claim 1, wherein the innerchamber is a cylindrical housing, having a plurality of perforationsallowing fluid in the container to flow through the inner chamber. 4.(canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. The container of claim 1 wherein the vesselbody is formed of stainless steel.
 7. The container of claim 1 whereinthe inner chamber is formed of stainless steel.
 8. The container ofclaim 1 wherein a portion of the inner chamber is releaseably attachableto the base.
 9. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner chamberincludes at least one fluid treatment mineral agent.
 10. A device fordrinking fluids, the device having an integrated system for treatingfluids, comprising: a container for receiving a fluid, said containerhaving a closed end, an open end, and an interior surface; and an innerchamber attached to the interior surface at the closed end thereof, saidinner chamber sized and structured to store a fluid treatment compound,said inner chamber including a plurality of openings to enable the flowof a fluid through the inner chamber to allow the fluid to interact withthe fluid treatment compound; wherein, the fluid treatment compoundincludes at least one solid element formed of sufficient size to avoidpassing through the openings of the interior chamber and to remain inthe interior chamber; and wherein the fluid treatment compound comprisesat least one alkaline mineral treatment agent.
 11. The device of claim10 wherein the fluid treatment compound is formed into solid beads. 12.The device of claim 10 further comprising a cap for selectively openingand closing the container.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The device of claim 10wherein the mineral agent comprises Tourmaline, Kaoline, Magnesium,Magnesium Oxide, Silicone Dioxide and Calcium Oxide.
 15. (canceled) 16.(canceled)
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)21. (canceled)
 22. (canceled)
 23. (canceled)
 24. (canceled) 25.(canceled)
 26. A container for drinking fluids comprising: a vessel bodyhaving a sidewall and a base wall coupled to an end of the sidewall todefine a closed end portion of the vessel body; and a well coupled tothe base wall and extending from the base wall, the well being spacedfrom the sidewall to define a void between the sidewall and the well,the well being sized and structured to receive a fluid treatmentcompound.
 27. The container of claim 26, wherein the void extends aroundthe well.
 28. The container of claim 26, wherein the well is fixedlycoupled to the base wall.
 29. The container of claim 26, furthercomprising a top element releasably receivable within the base well. 30.The container of claim 29, wherein the top element and the well includecomplimentary engagement members to facilitate releasable engagementtherebetween.
 31. A container for drinking fluids comprising: anelongated, hollow vessel comprising a vessel side wall and a base; awell having an open top, and a well side wall, said well attached tosaid base within the hollow vessel and said well side wall being spacedfrom the vessel side wall; and a chamber top structured to releasablyengage the well side wall to secure the chamber top to said well. 32.The container of claim 31, wherein the well side wall is of anon-uniform diameter to facilitate engagement with the chamber top. 33.The container of claim 32, wherein the chamber top includes at least onedeformable tab.
 34. The container of claim 32, wherein the well sidewall includes a rim.
 35. The container of claim 31, wherein said welland said chamber top include perforations for permitting fluid flowtherethrough.